Sunset
by Goggie
Summary: One-Shot. A typical morning for Desmond and Shaun. Des notices something amid Shaun's endless notes that gets him thinking. Des/Shaun


**A/N: Just a little somethin' somethin' I put together last night. I was going through the AC wiki doing research for my story True, Not Permitted when I realized I've never really explored the Shaun/Des relationship. So here goes. (To those who've been asking: I know Doubleleaf used this story in her AM series, everything was consensual ;D my name's on the cover.)  
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XxXxXxX

Desmond shuffles into the control room, puffy eyed and exhausted. The room is empty and quiet but for Shaun typing furiously on his computer in the corner. He doesn't even look up when Desmond comes to stand behind him.

"Mornin'."

"Hmm."

Desmond studies the extensive collection of maps and notes littering the bulletin-board over Shaun's head. He spies several of Leonardo's designs, as well as some modern photographs of Rome. One in particular catches his eye; a renaissance painting of the Pantheon, the sun setting behind it in a dazzling array of colors.

"Jesus, did you get any sleep last night?" Desmond asks, stifling a yawn.

Shaun scoffs. "Not all of us can jump back in time to get our work done."

Desmond rolls his eyes and moves towards the coffee machine. "You're just jealous," he says, placing the pot into position. "Which is lame because if Rebecca let you inside the Animus you'd just spend the whole time looking at paintings and old books."

Shaun smirks at that, eyes still on his screen. "The fact that you manage to ignore your own bloody history so well never ceases to amaze."

"I'll keep that in mind for today, ya never know. The city guards might try cornering me in a library. _Guys, time out! Can you wait to kill me until after I've finished reading this completely irrelevant dictionary?"_

"Who said anything about dictionaries? The dialectic shifts of Renaissance Italian are hardly a mystery."

Desmond watches his coffee trickle slowly from the machine and into the pot. "Okay, then what _do_ you want me to look at?"

Shaun doesn't answer right away, but his incessant typing has stopped.

"A volume on maths," he says slowly. "Some architectural theory would be… interesting."

The coffee machine chimes to signify its completion. Desmond pours a mug, mixing milk and sugar.

"Well, if I come across anything like that, I'll be sure to take a look." He places the mug next to Shaun's dancing fingers. "In the meantime, mind telling me what's on the plate for today?"

"On the off-chance you don't spend the whole time looking up women's skirts and taking nose-dives off church towers, I've got plenty of real work for you to do." Shaun picks up the coffee and takes a tentative sip before continuing. "We'll be lucky to get even _one_ thing done on my checklist."

Desmond takes another look at the painted sunset on Shaun's wall before heading to the Animus.

"Lay it on me."

XxXxXxX

Shaun directs him through a series of jobs across the city, usually limiting his instructions to single words or short phrases. They're only a couple hours in when Desmond starts hearing yawns and grumblings on the other end of the line. By their fifth hour together Desmond can no longer elicit any response from the control room.

Ezio's mouth smiles with Desmond's amusement. He heads down a narrow street towards the main square, going slowly now that he doesn't have anyone on his case to hurry along.

By the time he reaches the Pantheon the sun is already setting, but it's okay because he's timed this perfectly. Desmond starts scaling a shop opposite the square, determined to get above everything blocking his view.

"Shaun," he says quietly. "Wake up, Shaun."

"Mmf"

"Come on you've been asleep for almost two hours."

Shaun's voice is rough with fatigue "No I haven't."

Desmond laughs. It doesn't take him long to get into position; he stands perfectly still looking out across the purple and orange sky.

"Can you see it?"

There's a long silence across the communicator as the bright red ball of the sun slowly descends into the horizon.

"Thought you might like this more than a math book."

END


End file.
